Rules is the oldest restaurant in continuous operation in London. At the same spot for over two centuries, it was a favorite haunt of Samuel Johnson and Boswell. If one is seated in the proper table today, one notices a mural of Margaret Thatcher painted in a corner on the overhang of the slanted ceiling. She is depicted in shining armor, her stylized hair flowing like a lion’s mane, with the white and red banners of St. Stephen billowing behind her. This remarkable woman is at the center of the Al Yamamah story. Her keen insight and single-minded pursuit of the Al Yamamah deal on behalf of her country was never far from her thoughts in 1985 and early 1986.
According to Anthony Harris, who had been seconded to the MOD from the Foreign Office at the time, and who was one of those present at the famous meeting at the Swiss villa where Al Yamamah’s “Structure” was hammered out, the British can place the exact time and date of the British victory at 2:00 PM on 22 February 1986. The Prime Minister was at the time visiting President Reagan at the White House. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Middle East situation. Upon leaving the Oval Office and exiting onto the South Lawn for the usual confrontation with the press, Mrs. Thatcher was asked what she and the President had talked about. Thatcher’s answer was, “We have been discussing the wise advice of King Fahd.”
As luck would have it, this event was broadcast live around the world, and none other than the King was watching. Reportedly, upon hearing Mrs. Thatcher’s statement, the King said he was giving Al Yamamah to the Brits.
This underscores once again the central role played by the “Iron Lady” in securing Al Yamamah for the UK. Her determination to win the deal from the French and in so doing solidify even further her collaboration with U.S. President Reagan to retain Saudi Arabia as a U.S. – UK “zone of influence” was conveyed clearly to members of her government who were given the task of finalizing the “structure.” Our exclusive sources with direct access to “insider” information at BAe have confirmed that the choice of the British over the French was a very close call for the Saudis. While charming stories like the one above have become fond anecdotes for the British, there can be little doubt that from the Prime Minister on down the UK Government was willing to go to considerable lengths to win the deal and, in the process, save one of the crown jewels of the British defense industry – BAe. Key to this was not only the counterintuitive British willingness to accept barter in the form of “Prince’s oil” as a means of payment, but also their apparent lack of scruples in acceding to the well-known Saudi penchant for side deals and commissions, i.e. “corruption.”
Our sources have now added to and clarified our knowledge of the secret meeting at the Swiss villa, described in the previous report. Our exclusive source, relying on information from a former BAe executive who attended the meeting, tells us that the Thatcher Government gave strict orders that no one of ministerial rank should attend the meeting. In contrast to our earlier reporting, Foreign Minister Michael Heseltine remained in London. The British delegation was headed by Sir James Blythe (now Lord Blythe), then the head of DESO. Also in attendance was Blythe’s deputy, Anthony Harris, who had been seconded to the Ministry of Defense from the Foreign Office. BAe was represented inter alia by its chairman and, of course, Richard Evans, then head of the Tornado sales program. In total, there were around a dozen attendees from both sides at this gathering, intended to set the metes and bounds of the “side deals” that surround Al Yamamah.
To add to previous reporting regarding Mark Thatcher’s attempt to impose his own presence on the meeting, it was Heseltine in London, warned by Harris, who had the unenviable task of heading off Thatcher. Meeting participants did not want Heseltine to inform the Prime Minister of this problem, but he did so anyway.
This episode actually occurred before arrangements had been made for Wafic Saïd to “reward” Mark Thatcher in response to the Prime Minister’s request to Prince Sultan. The Prime Minister’s son simply intended to break in on the meeting and see what he could rake off for himself because of his connections.
That the Prime Minister herself was a willing participant in some of the more dubious aspects of Al Yamamah was illustrated in our previous report. The “deferred benefits” of Al Yamamah club membership can be seen today in lucrative post-government employment, such as that of Lord Powell, now heading Sagitta Management for Wafic Saïd, the lifestyle of Mark Thatcher, now living in South Africa, or the luxury apartment occupied by Sir Richard Evans.
With very few exceptions, the details of the Al Yamamah “structure” remain hermetically sealed within No. 10 Downing Street and Whitehall. The incentive for successive UK governments, both Conservative and Labour, to keep the secrets is without doubt the continuing robust state of BAe. The centerpiece of the British defense industry was all but prostrate in 1985. Today it is the third largest aircraft manufacturer after Boeing and Lockheed Martin and thus clearly dominates Europe. BAe ranks fifth among all Pentagon contractors. The wonder drug that roused BAe from its doldrums was Al Yamamah. Thanks to this arrangement Britain sold more arms to Saudi Arabia during the period 1973 – 1997 than did the United States in terms of total sales and current dollars.
https://cryptome.org/soil/soiled-dove2.htm
